Something To Remember You By
by DBSean
Summary: "I guess I just wanted something to remember you by." Catra catches Adora trying to take something out of the Fright Zone.


" **Worth a Thousand Words"**

 **A/N: This idea popped into my head while I was working on "Dream of Me" and just wouldn't leave me be. So, here you go! Another Catradora oneshot!**

Adora would have made it out of the Fright Zone without incident had it not been for Catra.

Outside, night had fallen hours ago and even the Fright Zone was relatively quiet (or as quiet as an industrial war machine can be). Adora had made it into the Horde base completely undetected, aided by the fact that she had spent most of her life and the entirety of her childhood living within the oppressive walls of the Fright Zone. She still knew the ins and outs of the fortress like the back of her own hand, better than she knew her own bedroom in Bright Moon. What's more, she still remembered when patrols ended, where to hide in case someone was approaching, and how to get from place to place quicker than anyone else.

What Adora had evidently failed to account for, however, was that the Horde had beefed up its security measures since her defection and her initial return to the base in order to rescue Glimmer and Bow following the Princess Prom.

As such, while Adora made it _in_ to the Fright Zone without being detected, she was unable to make it back _out_. Having found what she was looking for, she had intended to make her way out of the fortress as quickly and stealthily as possible, and was well on her way to doing so when the steel door at the end of the corridor she was running down suddenly slid into place.

Sliding to a stop, Adora was just about to turn around and try to find another way out of the corridor when she heard a very familiar voice.

"Hey, Adora. Fancy seeing you here."

 _Damn it,_ Adora thought to herself as she turned around to face her former friend. _And I was_ _ **this**_ _close to getting out._

Catra was standing halfway down the narrow corridor, blocking Adora's only other means of escape with a knowing smirk on her face. One of her clawed hands was on a nearby control panel, indicating she was indeed the one who had closed the door at the end of the hallway, trapping Adora in here with her.

"Hey, Catra," Adora said, smiling innocently and scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "Long time no see."

"We literally fought two days ago," Catra reminded her, raising an eyebrow but maintaining her knowing smirk as a means of intimidation.

"Did we?" Adora asked. "I don't recall."

 _That's right, just keep her talking_ , Adora thought to herself. _Maybe I can still get out of here without her realizing I took anything._

"You threw a boulder at my face," Catra said, deadpan. "A literal boulder."

"That doesn't really sound like something I'd do."

"You also shouted 'add this to all the other rocks rolling around in your head!' right before you threw it."

"Okay, _that_ sounds like something I'd do," Adora admitted, still trying to smile and be as friendly as possible, increasingly aware of the awkward and potentially dangerous position she was in. Former friend or not, Catra was the _enemy_ now. "Well, I can understand if you're still a little mad about that, so if you'll just open this door, I'll get out of your way…"

"Yeah, not gonna happen," Catra replied, her smirk gradually fading into a familiar scowl. "It's funny. When Entrapta told me there was a perimeter breach, I just assumed Kyle had forgotten his keycard for the eighth time this week. But _something_ told me to check it out myself, some little voice in the back of my head. Seems I've developed a sixth sense for detecting traitors." Her eyes narrowed. "Traitors…and _thieves_."

 _Damn it._

"Catra, I can explain," Adora began, her smile disappearing as she prepared for battle.

"I'm sure you can," Catra said, her own glare growing darker still as she unsheathed her claws. "Too bad I don't care what you have to say!"

She was on Adora in an instant, like a feral jungle cat that had finally cornered its prey. With no room to maneuver, all Adora could do was lower her center of gravity and try to catch Catra before she could tear into her. Alas, Catra had the advantage in terms of speed and agility, and though Adora tried to stop her short, she was unsuccessful.

"Agh!" Adora cried as Catra struck her, throwing her backwards and slamming her against the solid steel door impeding her escape. She looked up just in time to see Catra pull one of her clawed hands back and then dodged out of the way as it came swinging down and instead sliced into the steel door.

Adora took the opportunity to run out from under Catra and began making her way back down the corridor, hoping to find another way out, or at least backtrack until she could find a better route of escape. Unfortunately, Catra was on her tail almost immediately, lunging at Adora and tackling her to the ground.

"There's no way you're making it out of the Fright Zone alive!" Catra said as she slashed into Adora's back, tearing her red Horde jacket and causing her to cry out in pain. "I won't let you make a fool out of me in my own base!"

"I'm not…trying to!" Adora shouted as she struggled, successfully rolling around so she could catch Catra by the wrists before the latter could scratch her again. Though the Sword of Protection was strapped to her back, she hesitated to use it unless Catra gave her no other options. "Catra, stop! I don't want to fight!"

"I don't care what you _want_ , Adora!" Catra hissed back, freeing one of her claws and then reaching out to slash at Adora's jacket, tearing another hole in it. "I know you took something! Entrapta saw you put it in your jacket! What is it? Secret plans? A map of our bases? Tell me!"

"It's none of those things!" Adora responded, still trying to dodge Catra's strikes as she struggled (and failed) to get back up on her own two feet. "And it's none of your business!"

"This isn't Bright Moon, princess!" Catra reminded her angrily, grabbing Adora by the shoulders and then throwing her into the nearest wall, causing her to cry out. "You're in the Fright Zone now! _Everything_ here is my business!"

With that, Catra once again threw herself at Adora, claws bared and ready to tear into flesh. Though much of the air had been knocked out of her lungs, Adora was still strong enough to take Catra's attack and try to defend herself, blocking or dodging most of her strikes.

"Catra, you don't have to do this!" Adora protested, expertly dodging between each of Catra's strikes but quickly running out of room as she realized her opponent was pushing her back towards the steel door. "I promise I'm not here to cause trouble!"

"Too bad!" Catra shouted back at her angrily, still swiping madly and trying to grab (or destroy) whatever was in Adora's jacket. "You have trouble whether you like it or not!"

With that, Catra suddenly kicked out, catching Adora by surprise and sending her once again flying backwards into the steel door. Adora wasn't incapacitated for long but, unfortunately, it was long enough; before Adora could recover, Catra had grabbed her by the collar of her red jacket. Catra then swung both of her hands outwards, shredding the jacket in two…along with whatever had been stored inside it.

"No!" Adora cried in dismay, seemingly forgetting that she was in the middle of a fight as she saw the tattered remains of her jacket fall to the floor in pieces.

"Oops," Catra commented sarcastically as she watched Adora fall to her knees and begin rummaging through the shredded remnants of her jacket. "Guess I don't know my own strength."

But Adora either didn't hear the quip or didn't bother to respond as she frantically began running her hands over the shredded red pieces of cloth littering the metal ground, mumbling quickly to herself as she tried to find whatever it is she had taken. As Catra watched, not without a fair amount of surprise, tears even began to well up in Adora's eyes, as though the destroyed _something_ wasn't of actual Horde important after all, but something of important only to Adora.

"No, no, no," Adora mumbled again and again as she rummaged through her torn jacket.

"Geez, Adora, calm down," Catra said, actually beginning to feel a little guilty despite everything. "I'll get you another jacket if you want, we have hundreds of them."

"It's not the jacket," Adora said sadly, finally finding what she was looking for as a pair of tears rolled down her cheeks. "It's… _this_."

As Catra watched, Adora finally pulled her hands out of the tattered remains of her red Horde jacket to reveal four or five torn and crumpled pieces of what had previously been a photograph. Adora took a moment to flatten out the crumpled pieces on the floor before putting them back in the their original order, and Catra's eyes widened as she recognized the photograph.

It was _their_ photograph. Adora's and Catra's.

Three or four years ago, Adora and Catra had found an old Horde war camera that printed photographs only seconds after taking the picture and had spent almost an entire day playing around with it. Most Horde war cameras (it being the Horde, they only had cameras for _war_ ) were digital, and were thus able to store a seemingly infinite amount of pictures, but required a computer in order for the pictures to be printed. And all Horde computers required authorization, which meant photographs for recreational purposes were strictly forbidden. But the camera Adora and Catra had found…it didn't need authorization. It didn't need anything. All they had to do was push a single button and hope it didn't run out of film too soon.

The two of them had taken dozens of pictures that day – pictures of the Fright Zone, of themselves, of unwary passersby – before Shadow Weaver finally found them and confiscated the camera. Most of the pictures had been confiscated as well, except for a few which Adora and Catra had managed to hang onto…including the one now lying in shreds on the hallway floor.

It was a picture of the two of them, the only one they had taken together. Both of them were looking into the camera and smiling mischievously, well aware what they were doing was against the rules but hoping to preserve the memory nonetheless. The highlight of the picture was the fact that Catra was holding a hand with two fingers raised behind Adora's head, effectively giving her 'bunny ears,' which Adora had not realized until after the picture was taken. It was one of their favorite pictures, and they had bonded over it many times over the years.

And now it was gone.

"Where…where did you get this?" Catra asked as she kneeled down next to Adora and looked at the crumpled and torn picture, trying to ignore the tears still gleaming along the edges of Adora's eyes. "I haven't seen this in over a year. I thought we lost it."

"It was under our bunk," Adora said sadly, wiping away some of her tears. "I thought you knew. I never had a chance to take it with me when I left, so I…I came back for it."

"This is what you were taking?" Catra asked incredulously, looking over at Adora with a single eyebrow raised. "You snuck into the Fright Zone just to steal a _photograph_?"

Adora nodded.

"Why?"

"It's the only picture I have of us," Adora said with a shrug, as though she realized how silly it sounded but wanted to tell the truth regardless. She sniffed a little, already trying to fight back her tears. "Back at Bright Moon, I have pictures of Glimmer and Bow and pretty much everyone…but I don't have any of _you_. You were my best friend, Catra. You're _still_ my friend. I guess I just wanted something to remember you by. Something to remind me of how we used to be. Before…"

"Before you _left_ ," Catra reminded her, perhaps a little more harshly than was necessary.

But Adora only nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. Before I left."

For a few moments, there was silence between them as Catra considered what Adora had told her, the only sound being Adora's gentle sniffing as she tried to stop herself from crying. Catra, for her part, simply kept looking at the remnants of the photograph on the floor below. An idea was forming in her head, one she wasn't entirely sure was a _good_ idea, but one that she also figured wouldn't be of much harm, either…

 _Oh, what the hell,_ Catra thought to herself as she came to a decision. _It's not like I've ever been big on following the rules anyway._

"Come on," she finally said, tugging on Adora's shoulder as she said. "Follow me."

Adora blinked, confused. "Where to? The prison?"

"Only if you don't hurry up," Catra replied impatiently, rolling her eyes. "And stick close. I don't want anyone to see you."

Perhaps against her best judgment, Adora did as she was told and stuck close to Catra as she followed her down the corridor and back into the bowels of the Fright Zone. Catra was careful not to go down any well-patrolled or populated corridors, which Adora appreciated, and eventually they came to one of the many elevators scattered throughout the base.

"Get in," Catra told her as she flashed her Force Captain badge, ordering the elevator doors to open for her and Adora. A moment later, the doors closed behind them, Catra entered a special code into the control panel, and they were on their way up.

After a minute or two of awkward silence, the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened to reveal Catra's private quarters on one of the top floors of the Fright Zone. It was large compared to the cramped barracks the two had grown up in, with a private bathroom, shielded windows, and even a few pieces of furniture.

"Perks of being the second-in-command," Catra joked as she led the way into the quarters, followed shortly thereafter by Adora. As Adora watched, Catra made her way over to one of the metal cabinets built into the wall and opened it to reveal the camera they had used all those years ago.

"Is that what I think it is?" Adora asked, her eyes widening in recognition.

"I found it in Shadow Weaver's quarters after I took her position," Catra explained, taking a moment to admire the camera herself. "I'm surprised the old witch didn't just destroy it. Plus, it even has a little bit of film left. Not a lot, but…some."

Adora smiled as she finally understood where Catra was going with this. "You mean…?"

" _One_ picture," Catra confirmed, holding up a single finger as though to further demonstrate her meaning. "One picture and that is _it_. And after we're done, you leave the Fright Zone and never come back. Understand?"

Adora's only response was to throw herself at Catra and pull her former friend into a bear hug, the likes of which Catra had not experienced since the last time she did a favor for Scorpia. It always caught her by surprise just how strong Adora was on her own, even without transforming into She-Ra.

"Thank you," Adora said softly but comfortably, as though hugging Catra was simply the most natural thing in the world for her.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get all mushy on me, princess," Catra replied after a moment, squirming out of Adora's embrace and pretending not to see the smug look on her former friend's face that said she was well aware of how much Catra had enjoyed their brief moment of intimacy. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Adora's only response was to throw her arms around Catra again, this time from behind, and place her head on Catra's shoulder as she smiled and posed for the picture. Catra rolled her eyes but acquiesced, leaning her head against Adora's in a friendly manner that was both familiar and awkward at the same time considering their recent history. Holding the camera out in front of them with one hand, Catra adopted a villainous smirk to contrast with Adora's friendly smile before pushing the button and taking the picture.

There was a flash of light, during which time Catra quickly threw her free hand behind Adora's head and extended two fingers, once again giving the blonde girl bunny ears.

A moment later, they separated and looked down at the camera as it whirred and hummed and began printing the photograph. Despite Adora's grabby-hand motions, Catra took hold of the picture first and took a few seconds to look it over.

"Not my best work, but it'll do," Catra said with a smirk as she finally handed it over to Adora, who snatched it right out of her hands. "Now you can worship me properly, or whatever it is you do. Happy?"

"Yes," Adora answered honestly as she looked down at the photograph in her hands and smiled happily. "Hey, you even gave me bunny years again!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't make a thing of it," Catra reminded her, forcing herself to scowl in order to remain in character. "Just remember our deal. No more sneaking into the Fright Zone. Got it?"

"Got it," Adora agreed, still smiling and practically cradling the picture as though it were an infant she wished to protect from harm. "Thank you for this, Catra. I mean it. Thank you."

Catra just rolled her eyes and ushered her back into the elevator, joining her only long enough to once again flash her Force Captain badge and then input a new code into the control panel, one Adora had never seen before.

"This will take you to the sub-basement," Catra told her as she finished putting in the code. "Make sure you check for guards. After that, you're on your own."

"No problem," Adora confirmed, confident she would be able to make her way out of the Fright Zone now that Catra was no longer watching her every move. She stepped aside as Catra made her way out of the elevator, evidently intent to remain in her quarters now that she was there.

Adora was looking down at the photograph in her hands when Catra interrupted her one last time, just before the doors of the elevator could close.

"Oh, hey, Adora?"

"Yeah?" Adora asked, looking up from the photo…

…just in time for Catra to lean in and catch her lips in a mind-blowing kiss.

It was over almost as soon as it began, or at least it felt that way to Adora, before the blonde girl had time to do anything but widen her eyes and blush wildly. A moment later, Catra was pulling away, still smirking confidently, but now with a tint of red on her own cheeks.

"Catra?" Adora asked, blinking wildly and still trying to accept what just happened. "What…what was _that_?"

"Oh, nothing," Catra said with a mischievous smirk on her face as she stepped back out of the elevator. "Just something to remember you by."

Then the elevator doors clicked shut and Adora was gone.

 **A/N: Hope it was worth the read! Let me know what you think!**


End file.
